Guess What I Heard?

Being empowered to take a stand against gossip.

 Backstabbing and whispers can wreak havoc on a workplace. Once the rumor mill starts it can be very difficult to stop. But, what if you never let it start? How would that impact your colleagues? Your environment? Your life?

Whether you are a business owner, manager, employee or even an intern, taking a stand against destructive behavior in your workplace will position you as a leader. Recognizing gossip before it starts, avoiding it when it surrounds you and knowing how to stop it when it’s already in motion are the keys to spreading productivity instead of rumors in your office.

 Recognize:

• Do your conversations start with the preface, “Don’t tell anyone, but…”
• Are you/colleagues only talking about people when they are not in the room?
• Would you be uncomfortable having this conversation in front of the person you are talking about?
• Could this information ruin someone’s reputation?

If you answered ‘yes’ to one or all of these questions you are participating in gossip. Run for your life!

Avoid:

• Curiosity killed the cat, so don’t ask questions that you know are going to spawn gossip.
• If you know Michael is the office gossip, politely avoid him. And when you do have a conversation with him, make sure you are the one setting the tone.

But sometimes a gossiper is so good, so well trained, so practiced in his/her craft that you can’t recognize you’re gossiping until you’re in the thick of the conversation.

Stop:

• Walk away from conversations that you know are gossip.
• Change the subject if you are part of a conversation that you are not comfortable with.
• If some of the facts of the conversation are questionable, let the gossip know you’d like to verify these points with the subject. That is probably the fastest way to stop a gossip.
• When all else fails, just tell people you don’t like to gossip. You know how much it would hurt you and you don’t want to hurt others.

The gossip bug has hit all of us at one time or another. But, workplace gossip is an avoidable poison. All it takes is one person to stand up to rumors to make a huge impact on the entire group. But, if you must, feed your need to dish by talking about the sordid lives of your favorite celebrities.

If you want to be a more effective manager or business owner let Pick My Brain help. Contact us at 310.771.0665 for more information.